LGBTQ+ Identity, Culture and The Arts

Catalog description

WMNST 207N : LGBTQ+ Identity, Culture and the Arts will blend theories and methods in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS) with those of the Integrative Arts (GA). The course introduces key ideas, concepts and issues related to LGBTQ+ identity and culture, while highlighting aesthetic values of LGBTQ+ expression. The course broadly traces the historical, global, political and academic trajectories of LGBTQ+ studies and considers contemporary topics (for example, global-local influences, intersectionality, activism, and the media) as they relate to LGBTQ+ identity and the arts. The course is attentive to the ways that sexual identities intersect with other types of identities, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, ability, religion. The course will also help students develop arts-related skills and teach students to recognize and value the arts as an integral part of LGBTQ+ cultural expression. Students will write critical papers, participate in discussions with artists and scholars, explore queer art and art spaces, as well as create a performance or installation art project. Incorporating seminar - and lecture-style instruction with constructivist-creative learning and experiential strategies, the course seeks to develop a learning community stimulated by discourse, collaboration, and creative/aesthetic exploration. This course is a General Education interdomain (N) course for General Education Social and Behavioral Sciences (GS) and General Education Arts (GA), with US Cultures (US), International Cultures (IL) designate. The course is cross listed in both Women's Studies and Arts.